THE TRAGEDY OF A VETERAN STAR

Nida Blanca, born Dorothy Guinto Jones in 1936, was a beloved and respected veteran actress in Philippine cinema and a board member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Known for her versatility and 16 acting awards, her name was synonymous with Filipino showbiz royalty.

Nida Blanca was married twice. Her first marriage produced a daughter. Her second was to American singer Rod Strunk (Rod Lauren) in 1979.

Despite maintaining a private life, Nida’s family was tragically thrown into the national spotlight when she was found in the back seat of her car.

On the morning of November 7, 2001, Nida Blanca’s body was discovered on the sixth floor of the Atlanta Centre parking lot in San Juan, Manila.

She had sustained 13 stab wounds—to her neck, head, and body—and showed signs of blunt force trauma, though she had no defensive wounds.

THE HUSBAND’S CONTRADICTIONS

The initial investigation was immediately taken over by the PNP and NBI under orders from the President. Authorities quickly dismissed robbery as a motive, as nothing of value was taken from the car. Suspicion quickly centered on Nida’s husband, Rod Strunk.

Strunk initially told police he knew nothing of her passing. However, he later confessed to being at the parking lot that night, claiming he simply looked inside her car but did not enter. His delayed admission, and his hasty departure from the country shortly after, cast him as the prime suspect.

The motive, prosecutors theorized, was financial greed. Nida Blanca’s estate was valued at P85 million.

Investigators suspected Strunk learned Nida was planning to remove him from her last will and testament, giving him a powerful motive to secure his claim before the change was formalized.

The case was complicated by the confession of Philip Medel Jr., who surrendered four days after the incident, claiming he was hired by Strunk to assault the actress.

Medel gave two conflicting statements, initially claiming he didn’t know the victim, and later stating Strunk ordered him to stab Nida after she refused to sign over property documents.

THE LEGAL DRAMA AND FLIGHT

The case reached a televised preliminary hearing on November 23, 2001, where Philip Medel suddenly retracted his confession, raising his hands and shouting, “I don’t know Mr. Strunk! They tortured me! Kill me now!” He claimed police had tortured him (including electrocution and suffocation with a plastic bag) and forced him to implicate Strunk.

Medel’s dramatic reversal led the prosecutor to dismiss the charges against him and Strunk due to lack of credible evidence.

However, the NBI quickly rebuilt the case, securing evidence that Strunk had purchased a Swiss knife two days before the incident and confirming his motive.

Despite being placed on an immigration watchlist, Rod Strunk fled the Philippines in January 2002, claiming he needed to care for his sick mother in the US. The Philippine government officially requested his extradition.

Strunk was arrested by US Marshals in California in 2003, but the magistrate denied the extradition request, citing the Philippine government’s incomplete and “deficient” documentation. Strunk remained in the US, successfully using his legal loophole to evade trial.

THE UNSOLVED END

Rod Strunk’s escape ended tragically in 2007 when he took his own life, jumping from a hotel balcony in Tracy, California.

Strunk, who was reportedly broke and living in cheap hotels, had never successfully cleared his name, leaving the murder charges against him unresolved.

Philip Medel, the recanting witness, also died in 2010 while in custody. With both the main suspect and the key witness gone, the investigation stalled.

To this day, the truth behind the slaying of Nida Blanca remains one of the Philippines’ most notorious unsolved celebrity mysteries.